Page 50 of Wrong Score

“The gala, as I said when I knocked on the door,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest and peers past me.

I turn to see Cammy sitting at her desk behind me with a smirk on her face.

“Can we discuss this somewhere more private?” I ask.

“We’ve tried privacy Coach Bex. It seems that privacy is the last thing you and I need any more of. If that’s all you had to discuss, I need to get back to work,” she says, already turning away.

That’s not all. It’s not even close to what I need to say to her, but Sam’s office isn’t the time or the place for this conversation.

My mind is still reeling with what I just learned in Sam’s office.

Reeve and Keely, along with all the Hawkeyes WAGs have been keeping a huge secret from the franchises for all these months, and Rowan not telling her boss about this story could have gotten her fired.

I’m beginning to see that Rowan isn’t who I thought she was.

Chapter Seventeen

Bex

There’s a knock at the front door of my apartment as I debate whether or not I’m going to head down the Oakley’s later tonight. Tonight is Shawnie’s birthday and all the women are headed out to the club for girls night and the men are all headed to Oakely’s for beer, pizza and pool.

It’s the night before we have to leave for our out-of-town games, which means the bar should be mostly us.

There aren’t a lot of people who have access to the penthouse level of The Commons. It’s probably Reeve coming up to make sure I’m coming out tonight. The elevator requires a code to get up this far and the only three people who have a code to give out are Ryker Haynes, Lake Powers, and myself.

I open my front door to find Ryker standing outside of my door. He must have gotten in last night for Canada. He’s still not allowed to live in the states for another year and a half but he’s allowed to travel here like any normal Canadian citizen, with a passport. And he does, often, as the Head Coach for the Vancouver Vikings NHL hockey team.

He and Juliet drove down from Vancouver last night, a quick two-and-a-half-hour trip to Seattle, for Shawnie’s birthday party tonight.

He’s dressed in gym attire, standing outside of my door as he stretches his arm across his body. He’s either preparing for a run, or just returned from one.

“I’m going for a run. Shawnie and Juliet are getting ready for tonight and the apartment looks like the aftermath of a storewide clearance sale. I needed to get out of there.”

It’s been a while since I’ve ever been forced out of my own place. Come to think of it, I’m not sure that ever happened with Lily. I wasn’t around enough during the few years we were together to experience anything like that.

If I was in town, I was at the stadium practicing or in the gym strengthening. And if she had friends come in from out of town, hell if I would have noticed.

“Give me a minute," I say and turn for my bedroom.

Ryker catches the door and waits for me inside.

In less than two minutes, we’re out the door, headed out of the apartment building, our footsteps pounding the pavement as we pick up a steady pace. It’s the middle of March and the spring weather is starting to show around Seattle.

We settle into an easy rhythm that feels familiar from back when he was still a player on my team. But now as the Head Coach of the Vikings, he and I are peers, and with it, a new found level of respect.

I’ve always admired Haynes as a player, as a leader and as the captain of the Hawkeyes before he was forced to leave the country for a couple of years for faking a marriage to a woman he now shares a life with in Canada.

In the end, it all worked out for him. He and Juliet renewed their vows in Canada last summer with the entire Hawkeyes and Vikings team in attendance, and a guest list that would rival some celebrities' weddings. Now he’s set out to do something he’s always wanted to do— bring his late father’s team back for a playoff victory. With his leadership, I think they’ve got a shot. But since we play them next week, I don’t intend to offer that up.

We cross the street and head toward the park a few blocks away, the sunset starting to color the sky in reds and oranges, the tall skyscapes standing tall around us and the sounds of traffic on the busy streets around us.

“Juliet’s brother, Jerron… how’s he doing?” I ask, keeping my tone casual as we stride side by side.

Ryker glances over, and a surprised grin stretches across his face. “You remember his name?”

“Why does that surprise you?” I huff, a bit annoyed as we match each other’s strides. It’s not like I don’t care about my players’ lives just because I keep things professional. Even if I wasn’t the most sensitive coach, I knew that Juliet’s need to provide for Jerron was the reason she agreed to marry Ryker so he could get his green card.

“Didn’t peg you for being sentimental,” he replies, trying to keep his breathing steady through the pace we’re keeping.

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